A New First Date
by willwrite4fics
Summary: Snake Eyes/Scarlett. SE has healed from the injuries he got rescueing her from the helicopter, but how long to heal his heart? Will he ever bring himself to ask Scarlett for more than friendship? How can he deal with the team that pities him now?
1. Chapter 1

This was written as a Prize fic for anyone that could identify where the 'rutabega' comment came from in the Monster Within fic.

Only PhantamEmpress could come up with the reference, of BeachHead making a greenshirt clean the barracks with a potato, in GI Joe FrontLine(issue #17 for those interested).

Although I offered to send it to her via email, she chose to have me post it, for all to enjoy, so Thank You to the most generous PhantamEmpress!

This is set waaaay back in the beginning, after Snake Eyes helicopter incident, where he rescued Scarlett. He's mostly healed up now, and still adjusting to life with his teammates with his scars and muteness. I hope that you enjoy it, and please, feel free to leave me reviews, thank you for reading!

* * * *

Scarlett grabbed at the dashboard of the truck as it lurched sideways. "Whoa.. are you sure this road is passable?" The driver nodded at her silently.

The driver was her friend, a deadly ninja, terribly competent commando, one of the original members of the GI Joe team.. and also a very poor judge of road conditions in her mind right now. Snake Eyes was mysterious and quiet and a bit of a conundrum to most of his teammates.

She had been spending a lot of time with him. They worked together a lot, and meshed well as a team. As they got closer, they'd become good friends, and she started to think they might be a little more. When the accident happened, she had been terrified that he would blame her, as she blamed herself. It had taken months for him to recover and nearly that long for her to forgive herself, and to realize that he had never blamed her for his injuries.

Although Stalker had done his best to help his long time friend, it had been Scarlett he turned to more often. He hung out with Stalker when he had good days, and brooded with Scarlett on the bad days. He used up entire pads of paper ranting about his teammates, and his own limitations, about the doctors and treatments, and life in general. She'd convinced him to begin learning ASL, although it had been Stalker that sent him back when the first group class had been a disaster.

Snake Eyes shifted the truck into first gear and gave it more gas, pushing the poor vehicle up through a particularly rutted section of trail. After that, it smoothed out a little, although the lane was so overgrown as to be nearly invisible. Scarlett looked out over the view in one spot, open to show the valley they had climbed out of, before the trees closed in again.

"It's really pretty out here, how much further?" He shook his head. She swallowed, kicking herself for not asking in a way he could answer, she knew how frustrated he got. "Sorry.. are we within an hour of getting there?" He tilted his head.. and then nodded. "Half an hour?" He nodded again. "Ten minutes?" He shook his head and she took a deep breath. "So it's a cabin?" Another nod. "You built it?" He sighed heavily and nodded again, turning his head to look at her. "Okay... okay. Shutting up."

He smiled, and despite mask covering, she could tell he looked amused. He'd begun wearing a bandana at first, trying to cover the worst of the raw scars, but people's horrified expressions made him so self-conscious that he'd gone to a ski mask with goggles eventually to hide his entire face. He'd tried going without the mask around the team, but the pity on his friend's faces caused him too much distress, and eventually everyone got used to seeing the masked commando, rather than Snake Eyes, their reliable teammate.

Scarlett remembered the first new Joe member that hadn't ever seen Snake Eyes before the accident. He accepted the commando's unusual attire at first, and it took a couple of weeks before he had asked about the mask. Snake Eyes had basically been thought of as unfriendly, and stand-offish, because he'd been avoiding everyone, and refused to take off the mask to eat with the team. She knew how badly it hurt to have his own teammates flinch away from his face, and it didn't matter that some of them flinched out of pity, while some out of horror. Since it hurt, he closed himself off from caring, and took a long step away from having friendships even with team members. If a person didn't make a lot of effort, he'd ignore them other than necessary interactions for training or planning.

Breaker has been doing nothing that any new guy did on a team. You identified the outsiders, and then you dissed them a little to make the rest of the people like you and accept you in to the 'us' status away from the 'them' status. Primate behavior. Unfortunately, he'd picked Snake Eyes to diss. Not his fault, since he had no idea about his background, or why he chose to eat alone in his room, or wear a mask, or never talk to anyone. Stalker had ripped into him anyway, letting him know exactly why he should shut up and that would have been fine.. except that Snakes had walked in on it and heard most of Stalker's rant.

The fight between those two had been the worst the team had experienced so far. Stalker yelled, and Snakes wrote notes back, and eventually the ninja left. He'd been gone for exactly seventy-one hours and forty-five minutes.. barely inside the time limit to be declared officially AWOL. When he came back, he walked past everyone, ignored Stalker's attempts to apologize, and went directly into Hawk's office. After a couple hours he'd emerged, wrote a note telling Stalker that it was over and he didn't want to discuss it, and disappeared into his quarters. After that, it was a few weeks until he did anything but train, go on missions and disappear otherwise.

Eventually even the worst has to pass over though. She sighed. Stalker and Doc had worked hard with her, using every trick they could think up to get their friend back into the team, as opposed to just going on missions with them. Eventually he had to either give in and do what they wanted or go mad with them pestering him. If he'd been a bad person to begin with, he would have managed to isolate himself. But appealing to his guilt over his teammate's guilty feelings eventually forced him to come back to interact with them. After a lot of very careful work, they had their friend back, albeit a more reserved and quiet version. She'd take what they could get at this point.

Even though she thought their relationship was going well, it was very very slow. She knew the man was fond of her, and she darned well thought highly of him. But after a year, he'd gotten to the point of holding her hand and perhaps sitting and talking in a intimate setting. Yes, he would occasionally pull off the mask if they were alone, but he almost always looked away, and turned his face to the side if she hugged him.

The truck lurched unexpectedly and she jerked forward, stopped more by his arm than the lapbelt. He made the 'ok' sign at her in a somehow questioning way and she nodded. "I'm fine.. just was lost in thought." He nodded and went back to watching the grassy lane.

She smiled to herself when she thought of him laughing the week before. Stalker and Clutch had been working on one of the armored personnel transports, and he was attempting to help. She came in and basically showed him up, fixing a belt in minutes that he'd been struggling with for an hour.

Far from being insulted, he'd waved her to his spot, indicating she should take over. When she tried to demur, afraid that he would be upset at being shown up by a woman, he had pushed her physically to the truck engine, pointing at her. Clutch had snorted and called her 'Cupcake' and she had kicked him.

Stalker had rolled out from under the transport and looked at Clutch holding his leg. "She's more of a spicey cornbread.. she'll burn you every time you try to take a bite.. better keep your mouth shut Clutch." Snakes had begun to laugh, but without a voice, it ended up sounding like panting. He'd put a hand to his throat, astounded at the lack of noise, and that's when she realized that he hadn't laughed since before the accident.

Before she could stop herself, she'd spoken up in a casual manner. "What's wrong Snakes? Did you think you hadn't laughed in so long you forgot how to?" For some odd reason that had struck him as even funnier, and he pant-laughed harder, eventually ending up in a coughing fit. Because he'd found it funny, Clutch had found it funny, and started to laugh, which meant Stalker had ended up joining in, and the sight of the three grown men laughing.. all because Snake Eyes couldn't laugh properly, just set her off. She'd eventually declared she was going to wee on herself, and they'd all lost it again. By the time they got themselves under control, Snake Eyes had suddenly looked at her and written out a note that simply read.. 'would you like to come up to my cabin?'

Since she had already been approved for leave, she'd agreed, rather pleased with the invitation. She'd been surprised when Stalker knocked on her door that night, taking the time to make sure she had 'honorable' intentions towards his friend. With all the time they'd spent together, he still wanted to be certain that she wasn't toying with him, perhaps flirting without meaning to. When she'd begun to elaborate on why she liked him so much, Stalker had suddenly interrupted her.

"Never mind.. you're in looooove. No one gets that googley-eyed without it being love." She'd tried to object but ended up talking to the backside of her door, as he left without listening. After she thought it over, she accepted that maybe she was a little bit.. infatuated with the man. Perhaps it was a little bit of loving.. maybe.. maybe a lot. She sighed suddenly, hoping that she wasn't doomed to pine after a man that didn't return her affections.

The truck lurched to a stop suddenly and Snake Eyes cut the engine. She looked at him and he spread his hands as if to ask 'what do you think'? And then she realized.. they were there. She peered out and smiled. Yes, the cabin was small, but it was set in a perfectly lovely clearing, and she could see a lake sparkling through the trees. She got out and walked towards the center of the clearing, looking around at the nearly unspoiled wilderness around the little place.

"It's great. Really lovely." She saw the mask crinkle as he smiled in return. "You know.. no one is up here, right?" He nodded at her, engrossed in pulling out their bags. "So.. you can take off your mask.. if you want to." He froze, and she turned away, looking towards the lake, and letting him think it over. "You know I don't mind." When she turned back, he was walking to the cabin, mask still in place and the bags slung over her shoulder. She grabbed the box of canned goods out and followed after him.

Inside, she found it was one room, with a small attached bathroom. No tub, unless you counted the metal one hanging outside. She noted a wide, low-set bed. Only one bed, and she wondered briefly if he'd even thought about that. He pointed to the fireplace, and made a carry motion with his arms. "Yeah, get firewood.. should I start the fire for us?" He nodded and went back out, leaving the door standing open. There was a fire laid already, basic lore for camping, always leave your fire ready to light. She found flint and steel on the rough mantle shelf and made use of them.

Once it was burning nicely, she looked around, finding cargo netting hanging from the rafters, and various boxes setting up on top of the beams. Snake Eyes came back in, carrying an armful of wood and she helped stack it into place beside the fireplace. He added a couple pieces to her fire, and nodded at it, giving her a thumbs up.

"Not bad for a city girl, right?" He shrugged and then turned to pull down one of the nets. It turned out to have several large pillows and he took a couple outside to beat the dust out of them. She grabbed the others and helped with that. He obviously had a routine, and she felt like she was two steps behind the beat, but made a effort to help with whatever needed done.

When he'd started to pull the blankets off the bed to air them out also, he suddenly paused and looked at her. It was comical the way he looked from her to the bed, and she smiled, thinking that her earlier surmise had been accurate. He tucked the blankets under his arm and signed at her clumsily. *Sleep floor me.*

She looked at the rough planks and shook her head. "No way.. you'll catch your death of cold on the floor.. and don't give me that ninja training junk. Besides, the bed is big enough, we've slept closer together than that out in the field!" He looked doubtfully at the bed and back at her.

He'd tried again. *Sleep truck me.* She put her hands on her hips with a stern glare. Then he'd shrugged and gone outside to shake out the blankets. She made sure that all the blankets went back on the bed when he came back in. He motioned her to come with him, and led her to the lake edge. Pointing off to the south, he wagged his finger at her 'no-no'. She looked that direction and gave him a shrug. He repeated the 'no-no'.

"Why not?" He stood a second, trying to think of what to tell her that he knew how to sign. "Is it a person that direction?" He shook his head. "Animals?" Again a negative response. "Umm.. something dangerous.. but not people or animals?" He nodded and mimed a deep swooping motion. "Uhh... " He made it again, then walked his fingers downwards. "A ravine?" Sighing heavily, he finally shrugged and sighed. "Close enough?" He nodded. "Okay.. don't go that way. Can we swim?" He nodded, then hugged himself and mock shivered. "Cold.. I bet it is. But if we have a fire inside to warm up... " She looked off across the still lake, watching the sky begin to turn colors.

He reached to touch her arm, and she looked at him. He motioned for her to come with him, and she pointed at the sun setting.

"I'd love to watch the sunset, it looks like it'll be spectacular." He shook his head and motioned again. "But it'll only be a little while.." Looking impatient, he motioned more sharply. "Okay okay.." She followed him as he took a path up a slight incline.

She should be disappointed that he didn't share her appreciation for things like sunsets. Most guys didn't enjoy looking at nature's beauty. That was a girly thing she guessed. But he could at least let HER appreciate it. She looked through the tree branches as the sky's colors began to turn to reds and oranges. She was missing a lovely sunset, for no good reason.

He reached a washed out spot in the game trail they were following and stepped up onto a exposed tree root. Then he turned to hold his hands out to her. She stepped closer, and let him lift her past him, setting her onto the upper portion of the trail safely. Then he scrambled up too, accepting her hand to boost him up onto the edge.

"You okay? Wow.. that part really got washed out." She bent to look at it, noting the exposed roots, and finding that it was more packed roots than dirt on the edge he'd lifted her onto to begin with. He touched her, and motioned for her to continue on, and she waved at him. "Wait.. I want to see this.. you get flash flood ever?" He gave her arm a little impatient push. "Hey, cut it out! You rushed me away from the lake, you can wait a second while I at least get to see how this got all washed.. " He suddenly took her by her arm and twisted her around, pointing.

"Oh...." She was struck dumb by the vista. He'd brought her up high enough to overlook the lake.. and a natural clearing had been formed by a mudslide or something at some point far in the past. It was a natural theater, framing the western horizon. And it was fireworks spectacular right now. They both stood as the sky deepened in color, brilliant reds flashing into purples and blues... the wondrous sight spread out for their personal enjoyment. "Wow..." He motioned her to sit, and she found a comfy clump of thick grass to seat herself on, and just gazed happily at the sunset. He settled next to her and scooted over until his thigh brushed hers. The two of them sat and watched in utter silence until the sky darkened and the colors faded. She only looked away when she heard the scritching of his pen on paper.

He handed her the pad and she read the neat script. '_Did you like it?'_ She beamed at him and nodded. He took the pad back and wrote quickly. '_I've been waiting a long time to have someone special enough to share this with. I'm glad it was you._"

She held the note for a long moment. When he shifted nervously, she looked away and sniffed. He suddenly jerked and waved at her, shaking his head and snatching the note away. He wadding it up with elaborate movements and threw it aside, making motions with both hands indicating 'never happened' and shaking his head frantically. She wiped at her face and abruptly hugged him, turning him loose quickly.

"No.. I'm just so happy. I'm glad you'd want to share it with me. I'm not sad." He puffed out a relieved breath. "I really like you a lot. Thanks so much for.. for showing me. For inviting me up here. I know it's your private getaway.. I hope I'm not intruding too much by being here." He shook his head, and put his hand on his chest, then pointed at her, before spreading his hands to the faded sun setting across the lake waters. "Yeah.. I'm glad I got to share this with you too."

He smiled and then hesitated, looking away for a long moment. Then he reached up and pulled the mask loose, holding it for a second and then tucking it into his pocket. He didn't look at her, just looked away, but it was enough. She scooted a little closer to him and leaned to rest her shoulder against his arm. After a few seconds of them sitting in silence, he glanced down at her, and leaned over just a little bit. She stayed still, only gazing at the setting sun, and after a few minutes, his arm came up hesitantly to rest across her back lightly.

She smiled. For a new first date.. not that bad at all.


	2. Chapter 2

Due to massive over-whelming demand, I've written another chapter to add to the cabin/sunset PrizeFic.

This is being posted since everyone who answered the quiz question in Joes on Vacation correctly voted for a new chapter here as the Prize. The quiz was "How many missiles does the Wolverine tank carry?" Correct answer is 12 !! YAY for Joe fanatics!

You may note that Snake Eyes does not sign nearly as much in these early days. He writes more notes, because he doesn't know ASL quite well enough to sign to communicate all the time. Thus he's much quieter, until he gets rolling with pen and paper.

* * * *

After the sunset, back at the cabin...

Scarlett put another piece of wood on the fire, and shifted the pot a little further into the fireplace. "Will this be enough wood for the night?"

Snake Eyes glanced at the pile he'd brought in and nodded. She ran her hand over the rocks that made up the hearth, mortared into place. It wasn't perfect, but it was solid.

"I can't believe you built this yourself. It's pretty amazing."

He shrugged and then took a deeper breath, turning to look at the fireplace. The firelight wasn't kind to the scarring on his face, turning it more ragged than daylight. He'd needed minor surgery on his right cheekbone a few weeks earlier, loosening a thick band of keloid scarring that was dragging his lower eyelid down. The still healing wound looked raw and she stood and looked at it.

"You need to clean this.." When she reached towards his face, he pushed her hand aside, turning away. "Snake Eyes.. it's okay, do you want me to do it? It'll only take a second."

He shook his head, then pointed at the pot before walking across to his pack to rummage in it. She sighed and stirred the stew, making sure to dip all the way to the bottom so it wouldn't stick and burn. She watched over the canned stew while her friend cleaned the wound on his face, although she heard him hiss in frustration a few times. Finally she looked over to see him sitting and holding a gauze pad over his cheekbone.

She gave another stir to the pot and pulled it further from the fire. Walking over, she squatted down in front of him. "Let me see." He turned his face away and she reached to take his chin, moving his hand out of the way and looking dispassionately at the seeping cut. "Here.. give me that." She cleaned it gently, wiping disinfectant over it. He winced at the sting. "Sorry. This looks like it will be much better. They must have removed a lot of this scar."

He tightened his jaw and then signed. *Take face lots*

She shook her head. "No, I don't think they took a lot of your face. Just this scar that was getting bad."

He snorted. *Face bad* He sat still while she put antibiotic gel on his face.

She smiled at him. "There. And it's not that bad to me. I don't mind." He shrugged at her, and almost smiled in reply. "Oops.. let me get the stew.." He watched her go to rescue their dinner before it burned.

* * * *

Snake Eyes put the dishes and pot into a bucket. He motioned to the bucket and then vaguely towards the lake. Shana looked as if she understood him.

"Do you want me to come help wash?" He shook his head, and walked out. The path to the lake was barely lit by moonlight, and he followed it more by memory and training than by his eyes. Ninjas felt the path with their whole body, instead of looking at it with only one sense. Scrubbing the dishes in the edge of the water took only a few minutes and he looked at the lake, thinking about how refreshing a swim would seem. He didn't want to be gone too long. She might miss him and try to come find him. If she tripped and hurt herself on the path he'd never forgive himself.

He sighed and started back up the path slowly. What was he thinking? Did he really want her up here, looking at him with pity in her face? Why had he invited her up here? Why had she accepted? He stopped and looked up at the rising moon.

He knew he really wanted to continue the tenuous relationship they'd been building before the accident. He'd tried to cut it off, just ignore her attempts at friendship, push aside her feelings for him. Even though he knew she blamed herself for his injuries, he never did. It had been an accident. It had been his choice to risk staying in the chopper to free her, and he'd do the same thing now, if he had a chance to do it over again. His face for her life. His voice for her existence. It was an easy trade in his mind.

Maybe she did still have feelings for him. Feelings more than pity or guilt? Did he want to put her through the pain of loving someone who didn't have anywhere to go other than being a killing machine for the army? She deserved a man who could be part of her family, part of regular life. Be a father, a husband. Be someone who could just go have dinner in a restaurant without sending the other patrons screaming into the night.

He looked at the cabin, flickering firelight showing around the door. Who was he to make her decisions for her? He knew that he loved her. He sighed. Even if he wouldn't admit it to her.. he knew it deep down inside himself. Before the accident, he'd been terrified both that he would be rejected, and that somehow his poor luck would infect her, and something terrible would happen. After the accident, he'd wondered if the bad luck that followed him was rearing it's ugly head.. but the terrible had happened to him, not to her. Unless he counted the fact that she was trying to date someone with a face like hamburger.

He puffed out a deep breath and headed back into the cabin. He would let things progress however they progressed. If it was pity and guilt, the feelings would pass. When he stepped inside, he saw Shana seated by the fire. As he watched, she shivered a little and he picked up one of the blankets to drape around her shoulders.

"Thanks. Dishes all washed?" He nodded and found his notepad. "Hmm.. what?"

He wrote quickly. _I was thinking of a swim, but it's cold, you might not like it._

She smiled. "Well, if it's too cold, I can come back here and warm up." He smiled at her. "You didn't mention swimming when you invited me though.. uhh.. will it bother you if.. "

He rushed to scribble another note. _Shorts?_ He knew she was going to suggest nude swimming, and he wasn't sure that he could stand against the temptation. She gave a little sigh and nodded.

"Yeah.. I can borrow some of your shorts. One of my teeshirts will do fine." She got up and watched him pull out towels. She changed quickly and joined him outside, noting that he didn't seem cold even though he wore only shorts, with the towels hung over his arm casually. "Aren't you cold?"

He shrugged then pointed at her. She shook her head and waved for him to go. He offered her his arm, and she took it gratefully. She quickly realized it was a necessary gesture, and not a romantic one. Even with the moonlight, the path was hard to see. Snake Eyes led her unerringly to the water's edge, laying aside the towels. His grand motion offering to let her go first made her grin.

"I think you should go first... it's looking colder than I thought." He smiled and stepped backwards into the water. He reached out a hand, and she took it, but he still had to tug to get her to step into the water. "Oh.. my god.. it's freezing!"

He tugged again, stepped back into thigh deep water. She closed her eyes and followed, shivering. He turned loose of her hand, and backed off the edge of the shore ledge, dropping under the freezing waters. The shock of the cold made him jerk, and he surfaced with a gasp. She had her hands over her mouth looking for him, and he stroked over easily, getting his feet under him.

"Are you okay?" He nodded and smiled at her concern. Motioning out to the lake, he spread his hand in a question. "Oh.. no. It's freezing.. you're crazy." He suddenly grinned and gave her a push. She staggered deeper and whirled to splash at him. "Stop that! Oh you're evil! Don't you do it!"

He splashed water on her again, and then slid past her, stroking out a few feet and then stopping to wait for her. In the very dim lighting provided by the moon, he relaxed, knowing she couldn't see his scarred face very well. Despite her hesitation and shivering, Shana pursed her lips but walked out and paddled after him.

"Oh god.. this is sooo cold!" She gamely swam after him. He smiled and rolled over in the water, finding it invigorating. She finally caught up to him and dunked his head. "Take that!"

He came up sputtering and let her hang onto him. She laughed at him, and clung to his chest, shivering. Snake Eyes wrapped his arms around her and felt her shaking. He pointed to shore and she nodded. "Sorry.. I'm not a polar bear like you.."

He snorted and swam easily, only to have her grab him again. "How are you so warm?" He twisted and let her lie against him. Her skin felt so chilled.. and he still felt himself responding to it. They reached the shelf and climbed out onto shore. With only the dim moonlight, she had to wait for him to locate the towel to hand to her. She wrapped up in it. "Thanks."

He rubbed himself down, and reached to rub her as well as she shivered. He pointed at the cabin and she nodded.

"Y-y-yeah.. in-in-inside.. " He led her back up the path to the cabin, getting her inside and wrapped in his favorite thick comforter. She settled right next to the fire, and he put a little more wood on. "Oh that was s-s-s-so cold.. how d-d-do you s-s-s-stand it?"

He shrugged, and found his writing pad. Writing for a few seconds, he handed her the pad and went to find her sweatpants and shirt.

She tilted the pad to read by firelight. _I'm sorry, I thought it was nice. I'm sorry you are so cold, I didn't think it would be that bad._

She sighed. "That lake is freezing. But it's fine. I can see it doesn't bother you." He sighed and handed her the clothing. "Thanks.."

He motioned for her to stay and turned his back deliberately. She smiled to herself and stripped off the wet shorts and shirt, drawing on the sweats instead. She supposed it was nice that he was so considerate, even if it was maddening that she couldn't get him interested.

"Okay.. I'm decent again.. it's safe for you to look." He turned and hesitated before he motioned towards her. "What?" He considered a second, then walked away to change. He came back in dry sweat pants but had left the shirt off. She smiled at the gleem of light on his body. He already had scars over his entire torso. Most looked like cuts, crisp and clean lines marring his light skin. There were the pock marks of bullet wounds scattered in a few spots.

"Snake Eyes... could I ask you something?" He lifted a shoulder in a noncommittal way. "Well, you don't have to answer.. but.." She poked a hand out to point at him. "How did you get so many scars?"

He looked down in seeming surprise. He supposed he was covered in scars. Seating himself beside her, he poked himself in a few places and then signed to her. *Knife* Then he searched out and poked several more places. He stalled a second. Then he signed *Knife big*. He looked at her.

"A big knife?" He held his hands in front of him as if he held one of his katana swords. "Ahh.. a sword. Okay.." She boldly reached out and touched the few pock marks. "These are bullets.." He nodded. Then she stroked a large ragged scar on his side, making him twitch in reaction. "What about this one?"

He twisted as if he were trying to look at it, before he fingerspelled at her. *B.o.m.b.* She stroked it again to make him squirm.

"You've been put through the wringer already in life." She reached to stroke his jawline. "And then I had to come along and add to it." He shook his head. "I know.. accident. But if I had moved faster.. or.. "

He held a finger to her lips. "Ssshhh." She saw the wince he tried to hide.

She kissed his finger. "Don't.. I know it hurts your throat.."

He swallowed and nodded. *Sleep you bed blanket*

She narrowed her eyes. "Umm.. will I have enough blankets?" He shook his head. "I'm sleeping in the bed?"

He held up his hands, then nodded.

She tapped his knee. "You're sleeping in the bed too. We discussed this. Don't worry, it'll be fine. Besides.. I'll need you to warm it up for me, because after you're little ill-conceived swim, I'm still freezing."

He signed *I'm sorry* then repeated it a few times. He threw his hands in the air dramatically and repeated the sign, beginning to smile at her.

She laughed at him. "Stop it already. Here.. get under the comforter with me." He sighed and gave her a look. "What? It's either sitting here for a while, or going to bed now. Either way, you're gonna be under the covers with me keeping me warm."

He motioned to the fire. She raised an eyebrow and then lifted the end of the blanket. He scooted over and sat next to her and she wrapped the comforter around his shoulders while he slid one arm around her waist. "Better.. you're so warm." Scarlett shifted herself as close as possible.

Snake Eyes twisted himself so he could rest his chin on her head, letting her snuggle into his chest. His eyes drifted shut and they simply sat, Scarlett watching the flames dance, and Snake Eyes feeling her even breathing.

Eventually she began to fall asleep and he jostled her slightly. "Whaa?"

Smiling at her sleepy voice, he nudged her again, then encouraged her up. She yawned and wandered over to his bed and got in, dragging the comforter onto the bed with her and kicking it around to spread it out properly. "You're comin' to bed.."

He nodded and got the fire banked for the night. Finally he came back to the bed and stood watching her sleeping. Her face relaxed into a slight smile and the waterfall of red hair framed the curve of her cheek so perfectly. He picked up one of the extra blankets to toss onto the floor and she grunted.

"Come ta bed.. dun make me get up.."

He sighed and stood for a few seconds, then put the folded blanket on the floor and sank down onto it. What would she do? She was all but asleep. He got his answer when she rolled up to get out the bed and stagger over to him. Taking him by an arm, she tugged him to his feet.

"Can't see ya arguein' if ya are.. so come ta bed.." Since she was correct that he couldn't sign to her in the dark, he sighed and laid down in bed. She crawled in next to him and flopped down. Once she wriggled around a lot, they ended up spooned together, with him next to the wall, and her back to him. He tried to stay separate from her, but she simply backed up until she was pressed against him. So much for 'plenty of room' and 'slept that close to each other in the field'.

Laying on his side, with the woman pressed against every curve of his body, Snake Eyes tugged the covers up over them both, and tucked the edge in snugly. He lay still, with his face in the tumbled curls of her hair, still damp from the lake. He was trying mightily to not to become embarrassingly aroused by the feel of her body against his. The cold dousing of earlier was helping that. Closing his eyes, he invoked his meditation routines.. running the chanting through his mind over and over. Eventually, he fell asleep.

* * * *

End chapter: There's one more chapter, I'll post it as a Prize in another quiz most likely! Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

This will be the LAST chapter in this. I'm really glad that everyone has enjoyed it so much! The Quiz question was in the Joes on Vacation fic, and was roughly "Why does Snake Eyes hate Tuesday mornings?" And the answer was "Because tuesdays was debriding day at the hospital where he recovered from the terrible burns on his face." Thank you to all those that answered correctly!! On to the fic!

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Scarlett awoke the next morning and sighed softly, snuggled in under the blankets, next to the warmth of Snake Eyes. It felt wonderful, and she felt his breathing deepen slightly behind her. When he shifted in his sleep, she stretched her legs a little, feeling more relaxed than she had in months. That's probably why she didn't catch herself when his leg abruptly shoved her out of the bed and onto the floor.

"Oooomph!!" She landed hard, and the floor was freezing cold. "HEY!" Getting to her knees, she peered up onto the bed as Snake Eyes sat up suddenly, blinking and looking confused. "You bastard..." Her grumbles continued as she climbed back into the bed, shivering at the chill in the air. "You kicked me out of the bed!"

She saw him open his mouth too late to stop him.

"Sssaww...." He clutched at his throat, struggling not to cough.

She grasped his shoulder. "Shh... you know better than to try to talk.. it's okay.. " She scrambled back up to get a cup of water from the pitcher on the table. "Here.. sip it.. just a little.." He sat on the side of the bed, his chest jerking with the need to cough which he was suppressing. He'd told her that the only pain worse than talking was the coughing after he tried. What was left of the mutilated vocal cords was still raw, and any attempt to use them tore the tissue worse. Coughing after that was pure pain. Even regular coughing was somewhat painful. He reached out for one of the towels and she grabbed it to hand to him. He pressed it over his mouth and began to cough despite his attempts to stop.

"I'm sorry... I know it hurts... is there anything..?" He shook his head. When he pulled the towel away to take a sip of the water, she saw flecks of blood on the cloth. "Oh god.. is that blood?" He just nodded and took a few sips of the cold water. "Is.. is that okay? I mean.. " He reached to pat her arm and then made the 'ok' symbol with his fingers.

After a few more minutes, he shifted sideways and lifted the blankets for her to seat herself beside him. She slipped in, already shivering. He picked up the notepad and wrote.

_It happens, I should remember not to try talking. I'm so sorry I pushed you out of bed. I must have done it in my sleep, I'm sorry._

She read it and smiled. "It's okay.. I didn't figure you deliberately kicked me out of the bed." He shook his head and then coughed a few more times. "Are you sure you're okay?" Nodding, he put the towel aside and sipped at the water again. "Well.. that was more effective than an alarm clock!" He let out a couple of pants, laughing at her. Then he held his throat and grabbed the pad back.

_DON'T make me laugh!!!_

She smiled at him. "Sorry. Habit.. I've been trying to make you laugh for so long.. it's just habit to try now. I'll try to be as non-funny as possible." He let out another pant, and shook his head at her. He scooted out from under the covers, reaching to tuck them around her shoulders. Moving around the room, he added wood to the fire and put a pan to heat on the edge. "What are you making?"

He paused and fingerspelled at her. *E.g.g.s* Picking up a loaf of bread, he held it up at her and she sighed.

"Your favorite breakfast.. eggs and toast." He nodded at her. "I don't know how you get your calories. You eat like a freakin' bird." She got a shrug and he reached into the box to toss her an apple. "Thanks. I wonder if you're the only Ninja Chef in the world?" He looked surprised at her and grabbed up the pad to write.

_What do you think ninjas eat? Of course ninjas can cook. You can't exactly order in pizza to the super secret ninja hideout. Despite that silly turtle cartoon._

She read the note and started to laugh. "Okay.. point taken." She sighed heavily. "I wish we had longer to stay up here. A couple of days just doesn't seem long enough." He nodded. "I know.. let's go swimming again!" He raised an eyebrow at her. "What? It's got to be warmer during the day, right?" He tilted his head and then rocked his hand side to side. "Well, then it'll definitely be warmer when we get out. And I never get to swim anymore, the pool at the Pit just doesn't count."

Pulling the pad back, he scribbled again.

_I agree, the lake is invigorating, the pool is only good for exercise and drowning Ripcord in._

She laughed and pointed at the Ripcord line. "Well, maybe not actually drowning him..."

She wasn't surprised when he wrote more.

_As long as I let LifeLine revive him, it's all okay, I checked with Hawk. No permanent damage is the rule. Lifeline is a very good medic so I can go a long ways before worrying that I'll get into trouble._

She shook with laughter. "Nooo.. Hawk did not tell you that!"

Now he was grinning as he wrote.

_Ripcord called me 'burger face' in front of Hawk once, and he said he wasn't stopping me from kicking his ass as much as I wanted to. That's the same thing, right?_

Scarlett fell over in the bed laughing hysterically. "You're too much. I think you've taken that casual comment a little too seriously. Although Ripcord does go too far with his mouth on occasion. I don't think he means to.. I think he's just trying to be funny sometimes." Snake Eyes rolled his eyes. "I know.. he picks on you too often."

Snakes picked up the pad and wrote for a while, before handing her the lengthy note and going to finish cooking their eggs and bring the pan to the table. She read through it twice.

_He humiliates me! I can't yell back at him, and if he turns away or refuses to read my notes, I can't even respond at all, and he knows it! He tells people that I'm stupid or a dim-witted, because I can't talk to tell them different. He's intercepted my notes and thrown them away so the people I'm trying to communicate with can't read them! It's unfair that he can torment me all he wants and pass it off as 'joking' while the instant I respond I get told that I'm going too far._

She sighed at him. "I know he drives you crazy. I'll have a talk with him when we get back." Snake Eyes suddenly came back and snatched the pad away, ripping the note off and wadding it to throw into the fire. "What? Come on.. I know it's hard.. but I can let Rip know that he's going too far."

He was getting more agitated and came back over to write furiously.

_I don't need your help! I'm a grown man! I've been through more training and more combat than anyone else on the team, including Hawk and Stalker! I've seen more stealth missions than EVERY other person on the team combined!!! I'm tired of people treating me like I'm retarded just because I can't TALK!_

She read it and looked at him helplessly. "I know.. I know it's been hard."

He suddenly sat down and scribbled.

_People who don't know me assume I'm DEAF just because I can't speak. I can't go anywhere without a mask, and then everyone thinks I'm a freak for wearing a mask. You don't KNOW._

He stopped writing and she leaned to read over his shoulder. After a few seconds, he ripped the pages off and threw them into the fire. He sat disconsolately. Finally he wrote slower.

_I'm sorry, you're the only person who has been there for me. I shouldn't be bothering you with all this. At least I can destroy my words after I 'say' them now._

She shook her head at him. "No.. you can't. I always remember what you say. I don't want to forget them either, because it's how you feel. It doesn't matter if you get angry or frustrated. You're entitled to feel that way. Everyone feels frustrated or angry some time or other. You're got a heck of an excuse for feeling that way right now. I don't want you to stop telling me how you feel." He tipped his face up at her and gave one of his twisted smiles that only vaguely resembled a happy expression. She bent and kissed him impulsively.

What was supposed to be a comforting kiss of friendship suddenly flashed into more. Her lips pressed against his, and he was startled into responding. His hand came up to stroke across the back of her neck, pulling her in tighter. His tongue touched her lips and she opened her mouth, inviting more. She reached to run her fingers through his short hair, leaning in to press her body against his chest. One of his powerful arms slipped around her torso, hugging her to him, stroking down her spine and back up to between her shoulderblades. When she settled into his lap facing him straddling his hips.. he broke the kiss and sighed lightly.

She was panting just a little bit and looked into his eyes from inches away, sitting across his lap and sliding her arms around his neck. "Well... this is much nicer than swimming.. don't you think so?" He swallowed and nodded. She bent and kissed him all over again, surprised when he broke off the kiss again, and ducked his face down slightly. "What?"

He gave her a tiny nudge to get her to stand, and got up. Once standing, he looked at her and then shook his head. "What? What no?"

He moved away and plucked up the notepad. She saw his hand shaking ever so slightly as he wrote.

_You don't really want this. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you up here. I didn't mean to seduce you or for any of this to happen. I promise it won't happen again._

She read the note twice slowly, before she looked at him in exasperation. Deliberately, she wadded the note and tossed it into the fireplace and came back to stand in front of him.

"Look you hard headed dumbass. I'm tired of beating around the bush with you. I love you. I hope you have some feelings for me, but whether you do or not, I still love you. If you don't like me back, then tell me that now. I'll do my best to stop bothering you. But don't think that YOU are the one seducing here. I've done everything but break out the duct tape."

He blinked at her. She stood and waited. Finally he signed clumsily. *You love me*

She took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. "Yes." She watched him blink a few times, completely taken aback.

*You love... me.* She nodded. He suddenly turned and walked out the front door, leaving it open as he stood outside in the grassy open space, staring blankly at the lake. She finally followed him out and stood a few feet behind him. Did he think she was lying? Or did he not have any feelings for her and didn't know how to tell her? Had she ruined any chance of friendship with him?

When he turned to look at her, she laughed at the broad grin. He rushed inside and came out with the notepad, writing on it. He ripped loose a note and pushed it into her hands, already writing again.

_I never wished I could yell with happiness more right now. But puking blood on you would ruin the mood. I love you so much and I think I've loved you a long time._

She started to respond and he put another note into her hands.

_I love you but I don't want this, in case you realize it's a big big mistake to love me. Everyone I've ever loved has died or been taken from me and I don't want that to happen to you too. I was scared to love you before the accident and when it happened I knew it was a sign that I should never feel love for anyone ever. They always get hurt._

"Snakes.. that's ridiculous.. you're not cursed, I love you, and I didn't get hurt, you got hurt."

He was already writing.

_I AM cursed and if you knew all that's happened to me you would know it's a mistake. What can I offer you like this? I can't go out on dates with you or take you nice places. I'm in the Army and it's all I have to look to in my life because I can't do anything else now. If Hawk decides to discharge me I don't know what else I could do, I don't have skills other than combat. What could you see in this maimed useless person?_

She sighed and reached to still his hands. "Stop. I do love you. I fell in love with you, not with your pretty face." He rolled his eyes. "I know.. but you were handsome to me. And better, you're a good person, not just a good-looking person. You care so deeply for your friends and even just for your fellow teammates. You're so full of passion and love, you just won't let anyone see it. You don't have to be afraid with me, I love you, and I'm not looking for you to change who you are. And.. you did take me out on a date to a nice place! Look around you!"

He spread his hands before picking up his pen and then standing there trying to think of what to write. Suddenly he dropped pen and pad and swept her into his arms, hugging her tightly and then bending to kiss her as if he were drowning and she was the very air.

When they finally stopped to breathe, he looked at her and she smiled at the light in his oh-so-blue eyes. The scars didn't matter, because the same person looked out at her from those bright eyes. He twisted and motioned towards the lake.

"What? Swimming? Really?" She blinked as he left her standing to go get towels. "Uhh.. yeah.. swimming." This was not exactly the activity she was picturing.. but at least the cold water would settle her down before she screamed in frustration.

Snake Eyes followed her down to the water, watching how lithely her body moved and sighing with frustration himself. He turned away as she changed to a pair of his shorts, and very sternly told his body to behave itself. It wasn't that he didn't understand what should happen now.. what she wanted to happen now.. what HE wanted to happen now. He didn't want it to be a single moment of passion that she regretted when they got back to the Pit. A declaration of love was easily forgotten.. a round of sex much harder to forget. If she realized her mistake in giving her heart to him, he didn't want sex to mess up their friendship as well.

He sighed as his body continued it's protests, and jumped into the freezing waters. Shuddering, he winced as his passion was extinguished near instantly. Ninja training aside, the water was damned cold... thank god. Because Scarlett was standing up in the edge of the water, dripping wet, with a teeshirt clinging to every curve.. and he sighed and ducked his head back under again. Cold.. why wasn't the lake COLDER?


End file.
